Heaton slimming club closes - and members claim it's because too many people lost weight

Camilla Fox Lansley and Rota Anne Chamley who is in the same weight watchers group

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A slimming club has suddenly closed - and members claim it is because it was too successful.

Women turning up for the Weight Watchers meeting in Newcastle were told the sessions would be cancelled immediately.

No reason was given in a letter handed out by staff but members said there is talk that it wasn’t making enough money because too many slimmers qualified for free sessions after hitting weight-loss targets.

Weight Watchers say the number of gold members at Heaton had no bearing on the decision to close, but members don’t agree.

Slimmer Camilla Fox Lansley, who runs a company which supplies extras and walk-on parts for TV shows, said: “I turned up for my weekly meeting and was handed a letter saying the group was no longer running.

“I’m disappointed because I have been going for more than three years, made lots of friends, and lost two stone in weight.

“When you hit your targets you become a gold member and qualify for free meetings.

“There are a lot of gold members in this particular meeting and people are saying that’s why the sessions had to be cancelled.”

Camilla, who is a gold member herself, attended the meetings at St Theresa of the Infant Jesus Church in Heaton, Newcastle, on Monday afternoons.

She has written to Weight Watchers complaining about the way the closure was handled.

She said: “The letters handed out said the sessions were closing with immediate effect.

“We were given no notice for a group that a number of us have attended for years. We did not get the opportunity to say goodbye or try to keep in touch with friends and support made along the way.

“Weight Watchers may be a commercial organisation but it is a form of support and friends when you become a gold member.

“I have kept the two stone off that I lost by not just Weight Watcher’s input but by other gold members’ encouragement as well.”

Camilla, of Jesmond, Newcastle, was given a list of other sessions but none of them held meetings at a time or day to suit her working life.

She said she was not given the chance to say thank you to leaders and was not given time to find new members to save the group.

“To close the group without a chance to properly thank our leader and see where friends might go to other groups is bad manners,” she said.

“It leaves a bitter taste and some of us feel reluctant to continue to be advocates of Weight Watchers as this closure was handled badly.

“I must however take this opportunity to thank the fab leaders that we have had, Yvonne, Kelly and Vicky, and asked Weight Watchers to pass on my thanks to them.”

Meetings are free for gold members providing they weigh-in five times a year and don’t pile on the pounds again.

The normal cost of each meeting is £6.25 but there are regional differences and a number of special offers which may affect the price.

A Weight Watchers spokeswoman confirmed gold members are not charged but denied the closure was connected to the policy.

She said: “Weight Watchers is committed to creating high-energy meetings with quality group support, as we know that this helps members to see fantastic weight loss success.

“We also value our gold members immensely and encourage their regular attendance at no cost as we know their support and inspiration is also extremely helpful to other members.

“From time to time we need to adjust where meetings are held to ensure that we can deliver against this commitment.

“All members of this Heaton meeting have been invited to join one of our other local meetings to continue their weight loss journey.”